Garden Grove Man Held in Big Marijuana Bust

A Garden Grove resident and another man were arrested Friday on suspicion of running a multimillion-dollar marijuana operation out of the basement of a Lancaster residence.

Narcotics detectives executed a search warrant at 4363 E. Avenue E after becoming suspicious about an excessively large power bill for the residence and obtaining other undisclosed information, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Britta Rodela.

Detectives found a 7,000-square-foot basement filled with 6,000 small marijuana plants, Rodela said. The basement was equipped with a ventilation system that led from the growing area to a camouflaged vent outside, Rodela said.

“The plants were four to five weeks old,” Rodela said. “There was an elaborate lighting system, and concrete walls 18 inches thick insulated the growing vault.”

Arrested at the scene for suspicion of cultivating marijuana were Calvin G. James, 38, of Garden Grove, and Ronald Podratz, 42, of Alpine. They were being held in lieu of $5-million bail at the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station, Rodela said.

The unidentified owner of the property is being sought.

The marijuana operation apparently had been going on for two years, Rodela said. Seized with the plants were 142 lighting units worth about $500 each, two diesel generators and a big rig-style diesel fueler.

The plants were capable of producing up to four harvests a year, a crop with a street value of $75 million to $150 million, Rodela said.